It can be exhausting getting subs to integrate and work with the main speaker pair.
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I agree, the most maddening part to me is that after playing with test tones for hours and getting something that measures the way you want it; only to find out it doesn’t translate well to real world use 
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Are you using the new Classe mono amps?
Yes sir, I am pretty sure I was their first customer. Really an outstanding product, I posted my thoughts on them here:
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I gave up on the idea of integrating a sub into a pure two channel playback, not even sophisticated ones with DSP and presets from the same manufacturer of speakers.
Phase alignment, time sync, as well as low pass adjustment to avoid overlapping speaker frequencies and then managing room acoustics are quite daunting.
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I’m getting there, especially given the nice pay check I could get from selling my subs to help pay down my Spirit debt haha
I had a much easier time integrating them with the B&W 800D3 and KEF LS50 Meta that were in my system prior. I definitely took that for granted.
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Your speakers driven be your monos would make the subs redundant. You have pure Class-A up to 35W RMS.
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Yeah, even with the B&W they have been pretty much used to create a ‘house sound’ that I prefer [rather than filling a deficiency with just the speaker]. The blue curve is my ideal house sound from the 800D3 + subs, the green curve is the Spirits w/o subs. The +16dB infrasonic offset lets you really feel the music 
The green looks better to me. But there are some experts here who are more capable of assessing it better than me.
It’s personal preference. I intentionally shaped the blue curve based on my taste. I prefer a more tactile experience.
Also the majority of my content is movies/video games, not music. Many studios neuter their home release content because the end user has a sound bar not capable of reproducing bass properly so they roll off ~40Hz! So you have to supplement with DSP to recreate the missing information. There is actually a whole catalogue/community dedicated to this:
https://beqcatalogue.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
You are correct though from a purist perspective, flatter is ‘better’. If I want that I just turn off the corresponding outputs on my pre-amp or load a different DSP profile on my subs. The best of both worlds 
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Nice. Good looking amp. I was able to listen to them connected to the Martin Logan Neolith’s at Abt. Not the best room but I was impressed with what I heard.
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This makes sense to me. You are getting very nice response up through 50Hz with speakers alone. If 50Hz to 100Hz is as nice I would be very pleased.
Subs address problems with the room with the bass. It appears you have little problem with the room. 
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Audyssey XT32 does a good job integrating the subs with the mains as I have found with my Marantz SR6015. With the Audyssey Editor App, you get some nice control with before/after response curves.
Thank you @jmilton
I will check it out.
Seems like you might have a special model that Vivid Audio doesn’t know about. Based on their specs (Bass: 2 x C225-100, 225 mm alloy diaphragm with 100mm voice coil in 45 mm gap) they have a 9 inch woofer with a 4 inch voice coil. They also rate their speaker no where near 8.5Hz. I say just enjoy yours.
I appreciate the sarcasm and that you can read spec sheets… bravo lol
It is well known that they are referencing the cone and not the driver assembly as whole, even Stereophile comments in this regard.
Their specification is for free space… 8.5Hz is a benefit of room gain.
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Chops,
Agreed!!! IMHO, BIG advantages of a properly integrated musical sub (even with a “full-range 20Hz bottom end” speaker system):
- Relief on the high pass monitors (or floor standers) of producing deep articulate bass=increased mid/upper bass and lower midrange tonality, clarity and definition with greater dynamics.
- Reduction of upper bandpass power amp requirements…more clean reserve power for mid bass-treble dynamic peaks.
- Specialized <20Hz output of sub bass driver with handling enhancements of dedicated “powered sub” units.
- Allows better room integration to tame room nodes/peaks in low bass response and creates easier room placement of mains for optimum stereo image and depth-width-heigth sound-stage presence.
- Potential lower investment cost and space saving set-ups of sub+mains vs large full range cabinets to achieve full audio spectrum reproduction (20Hz-20kHz)!
How do I know this…I’ve achieved all above with my dedicated but modest 2-channel sound room!!
Ted
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I spent a couple of weeks trying to set up my 2 speakers and subwoofer in my small room. I spent time moving the sub around, adjusting the crossover, I bought some SVS feet for the sub. I could not get it right. My speakers a Paradigm Monitor 7 vs 7s and my subwoofer is a Paradigm PDR 8. So, of course I spent some time thinking they were to blame. Perhaps not of good enough quality to be blended into a good sounding setup. Always had some rumbling on some songs. I even spent time without the sub hooked up, which is the setup of choice rather than put up with the sub issues. Towards the end I was following the idea of setting the sub crossover lower to around 50 so that my speakers handle as much of the more musical frequencies. It still was not right. Then I tried moving the crossover to 80Hz. Major improvement. Now I am thinking perhaps my speakers though capable of good bass are not as good as my sub at handling lower frequencies. Also it seems like went though a lot just to come back to a fairly standard solution, Happy now and in the at least give a sub a try camp.
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To get it right you have to use two subs. Sorry.
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Al, I believe that conventional wisdom is AT LEAST two subs. After that, the more the merrier! 
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